Crete

For thousands of years, Crete has been of paramount strategic importance, thanks to its location close to the junction of three continents and the heart of the eastern Mediterranean. It’s perhaps not surprising, therefore, that when they ruled Crete, the Greeks called it “Megalónisos” or the “Great Island.” Yet the island has been ruled for much of its history by foreign invaders—including Mycenaeans, Dorians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Venetians, Ottoman Turks, and, briefly, the Third Reich. In A History of Crete, Chris Moorey explores the history of the Great Island from mythological Crete until today and sheds light on how the Cretans themselves have interacted with their conquerors. A History of Crete portrays the Cretans as fierce lovers of freedom who worked around and with the influence of foreign rule on their culture. In an engaging and lively style, Moorey emphasizes and contrasts two periods at either end of these three thousand years of domination: the dazzling apogee of the Minoan civilization from the Bronze Age, representing the first advanced civilization in Europe, and the brief period of autonomy before union with Greece at the beginning of the twentieth century. A History of Crete shows how the history of the contested island affected its people and made them to the Cretans of today.

Reproduction of the original: Aunt Crete’s Emancipation by Grace Livingston Hill-Lutz

Renowned British novelist Unsworth documents his fascinating travels in Crete, largest of the Greek isles and home to the Minoan civilization of 1500 B.C.--one of the most glittering and sophisticated cultures the world has ever seen.

Aunt Crete's Emancipation – All her life, Aunt Crete has been tormented by sister and her niece but fate has something else in store for her. The arrival of Aunt Crete's nephew suddenly causes a reversal in her fortune and she gets a chance to live a life of love and respect. Read on!

Lonely Planet's Crete is your most up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Stroll along Hania's Venetian Harbour, laze in Elafonisi's clear turquoise waters, and hike dazzling Samaria Gorge - all with your trusted travel companion.

This is the first book to help the visitor understand Crete's remarkable landscape, which is just as spectacular as the island's rich archaeological heritage. Crete is a wonderful and dramatic island, a miniature continent with precipitous mountains, a hundred gorges, unique plants, extinct animals and lost civilisations, as well as the characteristic agricultural landscape of olive groves, vines and goats, Jennifer Moody and Oliver Rackham explain how the island's peculiar and extraordinary features, moulded and modified by centuries of human activity, have come together to create the landscape we see today. They also explain the formation and ecology of Crete's beautiful mountains and coastline, and the contemporary threats to the island's fragile natural beauty.

A desire to recreate Minoan palaces, villas, and houses of the Late Bronze Age inspired the author of this book to undertake an eight year research program that has radically modified our conception of the appearance of Cretan dwellings. He not only interprets the use of the rooms that partially survive but reconstructs the guest suites and banquet halls of the vanished upper storeys. Written both as a preparation for a visit to Crete and as an actual guide to the sites," the book is prefaced with an account of the island's geography, history, and culture in antiquity, and packed with illustrations including photographs, plans, reconstructions, and a map of the island showing the sites. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. Originally published in 1962. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.